Ukrainian father-son pair sentenced to 20 years in Belarus prison for terrorism

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A father and son from Ukraine were sentenced to 20 years imprisonment each in Belarus after being convicted of preparing terrorist acts.

A court in the city of Gomel decreed the conviction and sentencing on Wednesday of Serhiy Kabarchuk and his son Pavlo.

Both were arrested in February for allegedly assembling a store of weapons and explosives. State television later ran footage in which the Kabarchuks said they were acting under the direction of Ukraine’s SBU security service.

Many observers claim that such televised confessions in the authoritarian country are made under duress.

Belarus has long borders with both Ukraine and Russia. Russian troops are based in Belarus and have been deployed into the Ukraine-Russia war from there. Belarus also hosts an unspecified number of Russian tactical nuclear weapons.

Ukraine made no immediate comment on the convictions.